Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its chars. I only own my plot.

Warning: Shonen-ai fic, Mpreg

Pairings: Inui X Yanagi, Sanada X Yukimura, Tezuka X Echizen hints.

Data Pair Lover, lol. Very outspoken.

Lillian, oh don't worry. The worst of the angst is almost done. After this it'll be more fluff-based. :p

To the story then…

Data Tales

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 13

Inui was inconsolable, as he wept quietly by his friend's bedside, clinging to his hand tightly. Yanagi remained unresponsive, and Inui wept for his friend, who lost his life because of his stupidity. Mourned that he had hurt Yanagi during his last moments of life.

"Sadaharu! Don't go..." Those were Yanagi's last words, and Inui had done just that. He had abandoned Yanagi when the latter needed him most, and now, he'd never be able to make it up to his friend ever again.

Inui had not cried like this in a long time. He hadn't cried when his Inui Juice ended up poisoning his favourite pet hamster. He hadn't cried when his notebook was stolen, and a lot of invaluable data was lost. But now...he wept bitterly, not caring that he was a teenage male with his pride to defend.

"Inui, let him go..." Tezuka tried to pull him back to his feet, away from Yanagi.

Inui shoved him aside, his eyes now similar to that of a madman's. "No...no..." He refused to leave Yanagi, even if it was too late now.

He turned to that pale face, and wept some more, holding Yanagi's hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry, Renji. I'm so sorry. It's entirely my fault. It's entirely my fault!"

Atobe had been standing near the door with Inui's daughter, and the newborn seemed to have sensed the atmosphere. She woke instantly and began screaming her lungs out.

The diva looked completely flustered, unsure of what to do as the baby continued to bawl. "Oi, Inui. Enough! You're scaring your daughter." He glanced around, silently requesting for help.

Yukimura went over, taking the baby. "I don't think it's a wise idea for us to let her remain in this room. Let's bring her outside."

"Aa. Ore-sama will ask the servants to have some milk ready for her. " Atobe declared, glad to have a reason to flee from the Seigaku data master.

Once Atobe and Yukimura had left the room with the baby, Sanada and Tezuka exchanged looks. Tezuka tried to speak to the data master again.

"Inui. You wouldn't be able to do much for him even if you remain here. Let's go. Your daughter needs you." He tried to get Inui to leave. However, Inui had latched on to Yanagi's arm so tightly, if Tezuka tried to detach Inui from Yanagi, he might as well have just detached Yanagi's arm too.

Inui was in his own world, barely hearing Tezuka call him. He continued to call his friend's name, repeating it over and over again like a mantra, as his brain continued to reject the idea of his friend's demise.

He didn't know what possessed him, and at that time, he was not in the clear mind to ponder over his bahaviour anyway. The Seigaku data master wished nothing more than to turn back time, wished to return to that morning. This time, he wouldn't have left his friend to suffer alone.

After a while, once Inui had let out most of his pent up grief, reality started to sink back into his mind. His friend was never coming back.

There was a gentle squeeze on his hand, probably Tezuka, trying to persuade him to leave again. This was followed on by a soft groan.

"Sadaharu...are you trying to wake the dead?"

Inui's head whipped up so fast, his neck cricked.

Before him, Yanagi looked very much alive, and his eyes were open, watching Inui quietly. He gave Inui's hand another squeeze for reassurance.

A wild surge of joy filled him, and Inui reached out, touching the Rikkai data master's face lightly. "You're awake…Renji."

"As you can see, you woke me up." Yanagi replied dryly. He sank back further against his pillows. "I wish to rest, Sadaharu." He spoke tiredly, looking like it was taking quite a lot of effort to even keep his eyes open.

"A-Aa." Inui finally got to his feet. It didn't take very long for Yanagi to drop off to sleep again.

XXX

"So Yanagi has finally convinced this fool that he's not dying?" Atobe threw Inui a smirk once the three left the room.

Inui buried his face behind one of his notebooks, too embarrassed to say anything to that. He jumped to conclusions too fast, and completely misunderstood the surgeon's words, thinking that Yanagi passed away when the Rikkai data master was actually just resting.

"Takku. Tarundoru! That's why I said to leave him alone. Poor Yanagi can't even rest in peace." Sanada frowned at him.

Yukimura laughed lightly. "Gen. You might want to rephrase your words or Inui might misunderstand again."

"You've gotten careless. Haven't you heard what the doctor said? He had just mentioned that Yanagi was unconscious because he was sedated for the C-section, and the next thing we knew you have already taken off." Tezuka spoke up.

"Impressive though. You've actually caused such a racket to pull a sedated guy back to a conscious state, ahn?" Atobe smirked again.

Inui wanted to bury himself somewhere. What was he to think, when he saw all their solemn faces like that?

He paused in his thoughts. Nope. Tezuka and Sanada were always this poker faced, and it was just his luck the doctor was too. He was completely conned by them.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Yanagi-san has lost quite a lot of blood, as I have mentioned before the…interruption. It will take him a while to recover, but if we can find a donor for him, he might be able to speed up the recovery process.

"A donor?" Yukimura repeated.

Inui shook his head. "I can't be included. I'm AB. Renji's an A type."

At that, three people exchanged looks.

"I'm an A type." Sanada was the first to speak up.

"Me too." Yukimura joined in.

"Hmph. Ore-sama too, but my royal blood should not be for peasants." Atobe spoke up, trying to cover for his discomfort over the idea of being pricked by a needle.

"What kind of a statement is that?" Sanada snarled, looking ready to start another war with the diva.

"Calm down, calm down. I'll..." Yukimura had barely spoken up when Sanada rounded on him next.

"Don't even think about it, Seiichi. Your body is not fit enough for a blood donation." The Rikkai vice-captain stated, looking concerned.

Tezuka sighed. "I'll be the donor." He spoke up.

All three turned to look at him. "I'm an O-type. The universal donor category." He said calmly.

The doctor nodded at that. "Very well. We'll check to see if your blood is compatible, and if we need anymore, we'll take from you too." He pointed at Sanada.

Inui looked immensely grateful. "Thank you, Tezuka."

"Hn." The Seigaku captain said nothing more as he followed the doctor to have a blood check.

XXX

Inui sat by Yanagi's bedside, reading through one of the books he had purchased earlier on. His daughter slept in a makeshift cot next to him, while her other parent remained on the bed, having yet to awaken as he recovered from the birth. The bloodstained sheets were removed earlier on, replaced by a fresh, clean batch of bed sheets.

The other four were staying for the night too. Inui had invited Tezuka to stay as thanks for the blood donation, Sanada invited himself to stay (Inui couldn't blame him for the distrust, considering the scare he caused with his foolishness), and Yukimura stayed to make sure Sanada didn't go homicidal on Inui. As for Atobe...he was staying to make sure his property remained undamaged, or so he said.

With the guests, the room arrangements were made immediately. There were four bedrooms in total. Yanagi occupied one, leaving three rooms down to be split between five people. Atobe insisted on having a room to himself, Yukimura reassured Inui that he and Sanada would be fine sharing one room, and Inui gave his room to Tezuka, insisting he'd be fine on the couch.

They have had dinner earlier on, and all of them retired to their respective bedrooms for the night, either to finish their homework, or to prepare for bed. Inui made sure his daughter was fed and changed before he headed over to Yanagi's bedroom, wanting to watch over the Rikkai data master a while before he himself went to sleep.

Occasionally, Inui threw his daughter's tiny form a glance, reaching out and tucking the blankets around her from time to time. Like most new parents, Inui found himself extremely watchful over her, and even the slightest twitch she made would command his full attention.

Being a newborn, however, she remained quite still, hardly moving in her sleep. As Inui watched her, he allowed himself to reflect on some of the day's experience.

His daughter needed a name. Earlier on, everyone had been addressing the newborn as 'she', and Yukimura was the first to come up with a nickname for her- 'aka-chan'. However, Sanada protested at that, feeling that it made her sound too similar to the Rikkai devil Akaya. Yukimura then changed the name to 'baby-chan', and the nickname had stuck ever since. Inui knew that he had to come up with a proper name for her, or his daughter would find herself addressed as 'Baby-chan' for the rest of her life.

A crack of thunder sounded outside, and Inui looked up, only then realizing that it was raining. Moments later, a soft whimper made him glance over to the cot. His daughter was startled, and the now awake baby began to cry.

Inui set his book down immediately and scooped the tiny baby out of her cot. He held her close to himself, remembering that babies were soothed by their parents' body warmth, whispering to her softly as he bounced her lightly in his arms, trying to coax her to sleep. He didn't really know what to say to a baby this young, so he just droned on and on, giving her a complete report on all the data he had ever collected, speaking of complicated angles and speed.

It worked, as the baby quieted almost immediately. She stopped squirming and went back to sleep, her breathing even. Inui didn't feel like putting her in her cot just yet, as he continued to rock her in his arms, gazing down at that sleeping face.

A name came to his mind, one he remembered from the book. Yuina. 'Yui' meant 'to bind', and thinking of it, this baby had somewhat been the person to bring both he and Yanagi closer. If they hadn't been forced to stay under the same roof for a period of time, they probably wouldn't have realized each other's feelings, and Yanagi's feelings towards Inui would be unrequited, as Inui would be too busy being in denial. As for the 'na' in her name, it meant 'vegetables'. This baby's conception was thanks to that vegetable juice in the first place anyway.

Inui gazed down at his daughter again and sighed. No. He really didn't have the right to be the one to name her. He had been a jerk to both her and Yanagi when he turned his back to them. Inui had no idea if Yanagi still had feelings for him after everything he had done, and he didn't even know how he should apologize to the other data master. Somehow, no amount of apology seemed enough.

He threw another glance in Yanagi's direction, and to his surprise, the Rikkai data master's eyes were open. Yanagi was watching both him and their daughter quietly with a small smile on his face, and Inui could only guess how long he had been awake already.

"Renji, you're awake!" Inui could hardly keep the happiness out of his voice.

Yanagi gave him a tired smile. "Aa. I was awake when I heard the sounds of crying." His eyes remained fixed on the bundle in Inui's arms. "So that's..."

Inui then remembered that Yanagi hadn't had a proper look at their daughter yet, even after all that trouble he had gone through.

He got off the chair and went over to Yanagi, placing the baby next to him carefully. "It's a girl." He said softly.

Yanagi's eyes were instantly fixed on her face, as he reached out and touched her tiny features, tracing the shape of her face with his fingers. He put his arm around her tiny form, drawing her closer to himself. A smile found its way to his face as he watched her. "She's beautiful, Sadaharu." He spoke quietly, his voice filled with emotions for the baby.

"Aa. I look forward to recording her data when she gets older." Inui fidgeted uncomfortably, not sure if he would be able to phrase the words right. "Renji...I'm very sorry for being such a jerk earlier on. It was wrong of me to intrude on your privacy and accuse you of being secretive...when I had being doing the same to you all these times. I'm sorry."

Yanagi was quiet for a while, as he continued to stroke the baby's cheek. Eventually he looked up. "Apology accepted." He said curtly.

There was a short moment of silence as Yanagi continued to study the baby's features, the small smile seemingly quite permanent on his face. Inui kept quiet, allowing Yanagi to bond with their daughter.

"Have you thought of a name for her?" The Rikkai data master asked abruptly.

Inui was surprised by that. Yanagi wanted him to be the one to name their daughter?

"Aa...but...shouldn't you be the one to name her? I..."

"Don't deserve to be the one to give her a name, was what you wanted to say right?" Yanagi looked up and met Inui's gaze. His eyes slid back to their half-closed state. "I would like you to be the one to name her."

Inui felt a surge of happiness at that. He also felt a twinge of guilt, for him being such a jerk when Yanagi had been so kind to him all along. He stared at the baby. There was a 79 percent chance their daughter would be taking after Yanagi's surname. He vaguely wondered if the name he thought of would sound nice for her.

"Yuina." He gave the name he had in mind. Yanagi Yuina...would that sound odd?

"Yuina." Yanagi looked thoughtful for a while as he turned the name over in his head. He patted the baby lightly. "That sounds nice. Inui Yuina."

Inui blinked. Yanagi didn't just allow her to be named by him, but he actually allowed her to take after Inui's surname too? It didn't tally with his data at all.

Yanagi studied his reaction and frowned. "You don't like it?"

"Ah no...I mean. I do. I do like it. I'm glad, Renji. Thank you." Inui found himself babbling as he was filled with a strange surge of happiness. He hadn't picked the wrong name for his daughter after all. Somehow, with Yanagi giving their daughter Inui's surname, it felt like a bond had formed between them. Inui vaguely thought that they seemed somewhat like a family now that Yanagi had indirectly invited him into their lives.

Yanagi chuckled good-naturedly. He gazed down at their daughter once more. "She'll be sleeping next to me tonight." He spoke cheerily.

Inui nodded. "Aa. I'll be outside if you need me." He moved away from the bed. Before he could reach the door, however, Yanagi had spoken up.

"Outside? What do you mean by outside, Sadaharu?"

Inui turned around. "I'll be sleeping on the couch. That way it will be easier to call for me if you need me."

Yanagi frowned. "Why the couch? Your bedroom is quite near here anyway."

"Ah...about that. Tezuka's sleeping in that one now." Inui admitted.

Yanagi stared at him for a while. "My calculations tell me that all the bedrooms are occupied by the others too."

"Aa. Don't worry, Renji. The couch is fine."

Yanagi said nothing for a while. Wordlessly, he scooted over to one side of the bed, wincing a little as he did so. He picked up the sleeping baby and cradled her in his arms before throwing Inui a meaningful glance. He had left the other side of the bed free, and Inui got the message even though Yanagi hadn't spoken at all.

"No, Renji. It's best if you have the bed to yourself. It's too small for the two of us, and you need sleep more than I do. I..."

"Sadaharu." Yanagi spoke quietly, cutting his protests short.

Inui felt all his defenses die down. He gave a sigh, giving in. Walking over, he carefully slipped under the covers, making sure to keep more space for Yanagi. The bed was bigger than he initially thought, much to his relief.

Yanagi placed their sleeping daughter between them, keeping his arm around her sleeping form. "Good night, Sadaharu." He told the Seigaku data master before settling back against his pillows and closing his eyes.

Inui envied his friend for being so carefree. Inui was extremely aware of the close proximity between them, and he was even more aware of the baby. He remained stiff throughout most of the night, hardly daring to move least he rolled too close to either of them. Thanks to that he had mild insomnia, as he ran through data in his head to get himself to sleep.

Inui sighed. He was thinking too much. He turned over, so that he was now sleeping on his side, and watched Yanagi's features. The brunette breathed softly, his face wearing the same peaceful expression as their daughter's. Both parent and child slept, side by side, and Inui smiled inwardly at that scene.

He continued to watch them, and soon felt the familiar draw of sleep taking him. Contentedly, he closed his eyes, finally allowing himself to drift off to dreamland.

To be continued...

Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.

-Gwyn86